Many Americans believe that people who are too smart and have too much knowledge will betray God, which therefore is evil.

1. What the studies actually show — modest correlation, not moral verdict

Large meta-analyses have reported a consistent negative association between intelligence measures and religiosity across many samples, with one 63-study meta-analysis finding a reliable negative link and later work reaffirming a similar pattern in expanded reviews ^{[4] [2] [5]}. These studies emphasize correlation: individuals scoring higher on some cognitive tests are, on average, less likely to report strong religious beliefs, but the research explicitly stops short of alleging that intelligence causes moral corruption or betrayal of God ^{[1] [3]}.

2. Nuance in measurement — beliefs versus behavior, culture and age matter

Researchers note the effect is stronger when religiosity is measured as belief than when measured as religious behavior such as attendance, and that findings are heavily weighted toward Western, often Protestant-majority samples, limiting their generalizability across faith traditions where practice may matter as much as creed ^[1]. The negative association also varies by age and educational context — stronger among college students and adults than among younger samples — suggesting socialization and life stage influence both thinking styles and religious expression ^[2].

3. Explanations scholars offer — reasoning styles, education and selection

Scholars propose mechanisms: more analytical cognitive styles and higher education correlate with skepticism toward supernatural claims, while intuitive thinking correlates with religious belief; education and life quality may mediate the relationship rather than raw intellect being determinative ^{[3] [7]}. Critics point out measurement limits and cultural confounds — intelligence tests and conceptions of faith are socially shaped — so simple cause-effect claims overreach the data ^{[3] [1]}.

4. The elite scientist pattern and its limits

Historical and contemporary surveys show that eminent scientists are less likely to profess belief than the general public, a finding that feeds narratives of a secular intellectual class, but those same surveys illustrate exceptions and variability across disciplines and cultures rather than a uniform “betrayal” by intellect ^{[8] [9]}. Media and popular summaries sometimes amplify the contrast between elite unbelief and mass religiosity, which can fuel moralizing interpretations that intelligence equals apostasy ^{[7] [10]}.

5. Political and cultural stakes — why the idea persists

The idea that knowledge or sophistication threatens faith is politically useful: it frames secular elites and technologies (including AI) as eroding moral foundations, a point made explicitly by commentators worried about machines sidelining pastoral authority and cultural faith practices ^{[6] [11]}. Those framing choices reflect implicit agendas — protecting institutional religious authority or pushing for secular modernity — rather than neutral neutral readings of empirical correlations ^[6].

6. What the evidence cannot say — moral labels and metaphysical claims

Scientific studies can map associations between cognitive measures and reported belief, but they cannot adjudicate theological claims that equate intelligence with moral betrayal or evil; those are normative and doctrinal positions outside empirical scope, and the sources consulted do not provide evidence that intellectualism inherently equals moral perdition ^{[1] [4]}. Public discourse should therefore separate descriptive findings from prescriptive judgments, and acknowledge that many intelligent people maintain deep faith while many believers are reflective and intellectually engaged ^{[8] [10]}.